Football
ESPN 4y

LIVE Transfer Talk: Barcelona, Juventus want Chelsea's Willian on free transfer

The transfer windows in Europe's top leagues are closed, but it's never too early to look forward to January. Click here to view the latest transfers, and keep up to date with the newest gossip below.

TOP STORY: Barca and Juve target Willian

European giants Barcelona and Juventus could be set to make a move for Chelsea winger Willian, with the Brazil international's contract coming to an end this summer, the Mirror reports.

The Spanish and Italian champions will look to make a pre-contract agreement with the 31-year-old in January, but Blues boss Frank Lampard has suggested that he wants Willian to stay.

Chelsea's No. 10 is now the third-longest-serving player at the club, after Cesar Azpilicueta and Marco van Ginkel.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk and Anzhi Makhachkala player remains a key member of Frank Lampard's squad, starting 12 matches so far this season and scoring three goals.

LIVE BLOG

22.45 GMT: That will do it for the latest edition of our LIVE Transfer Talk blog. We hoped you enjoyed following along with us and remind you to check back shortly for the latest transfer rumours, reports and completed deals. Goodnight!

21.54 GMT: Arsenal need another central defender and two names being linked are Juventus' Merih Demiral and Leicester City's Caglar Soyuncu.

The Gunners defence has conceded 17 goals in 12 games this season and fans are harping for new recruits in January. Reports in Italy suggest Maurizio Sarri is looking to shrink and "de-clutter" his Juve roster and that Dermiral, who is on the fringes at the moment, is one who could go for the right price.

The 21-year-old defender is rated at £34 million and Arsenal reportedly had scouts in Istanbul on Thursday to scout the Turkey defender.

Soyuncu, Demiral's centre-back partner with Turkey, could also be in the Gunners' crosshairs, especially considering Arsenal nearly signed him two seasons ago. The 23-year-old has had a breakout season in England and is being linked with various clubs in the top six. Arsenal need defensive help badly and either one of Turkey's centre-backs would be an upgrade on the current cast at the Emirates.

20.30 GMT: Granit Xhaka to... Newcastle?

The recently ousted Arsenal captain is in the doghouse at the Emirates after his outburst a few weeks ago in a draw with Crystal Palace and has been linked with a move to Tyneside. One player who could play a role in luring Xhaka to St. James' Park? His international teammate Fabian Schar.

ChronicleLive writes that Schar is very close with Xhaka and will be key in convincing the 27-year-old. Unfortunately for Newcastle, Schar is not with Switzerland for the upcoming qualifiers due to a knee injury.

19.42 GMT: Scottish club Hibernian are reportedly close to resigning former Liverpool goalkeeper Adam Bogdan.

The 32-year-old shot-stopper, who played for Hibs last season on loan, is close to signing a short-term contract to return to Easter Road. Bogdan made two appearances in four seasons at Anfield and previously played six seasons at Bolton. 

18.34 GMT: Inter Milan's Lautaro Martinez, 22, has been fantastic this season both in Serie A and the Champions League and the rest of Europe has taken notice.

The Mirror writes that Martinez is set to be at the centre of a Manchester tug-of-war between City and United, and that both would be willing to pay around £100 million for the Argentine With Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez already in tow, it would seem almost greedy for City to go for Lautaro!

United, meanwhile, are barren for goals up front and are desperate to sign a big-time forward to support Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial. Martinez continues to shine for Inter (eight goals and three assists this season) and if he keeps producing like that he could be soon bound for bigger and better things.

17.18 GMT: Juventus are reportedly open to selling flop Emre Can but he won't come cheap!

CalcioMercato.it claims that Juve are willing to listen to offers of €35 million for the former Liverpool midfielder. Still just 25, the German international's time in Turin has been hampered by injuries, with Can having played just four games and 150 minutes this term. This report is quite an indictment on Can at the moment, as the midfielder has a €50m release clause but Juve would reportedly be willing to take less to offload the ex-Red.

16:06 GMT: Paris Saint-Germain have started talks with agent Wanda Nara over Mauro Icardi's permanent future after a strong start to life in the French capital, according to Gazzeta Dello Sport.

Sporting director Leonardo is said to be keen to activate the €65m option to buy in the coming months, while chairman and CEO Nasser Al-Khelaifi is believed to have given his consent to a five-year contract for the Argentina international.

Icardi, 26, has nine goals and one assist from 10 appearances across Ligue 1 and the Champions League since joining on loan from Inter Milan on deadline day

14:24 GMT: Tottenham stars Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are all willing to see out their contracts and leave on free transfer next summer, according to the Daily Star.

Left-back Danny Rose voiced his intention to stay at the club until his deal expires in 2021, even if the club want to sell him sooner, and the Star report claims that three of his most high-profile teammates also hope to leave Spurs without the club recouping a fee.

Eriksen went public with his desire to leave Tottenham last summer, and went as far as to mention Real Madrid by name, but the Denmark international remained in north London.

13:39 GMT: Colombia striker Alfredo Morelos will not be sold in the January transfer window, according to Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson.

Morelos has been linked with interest from Premier League high-flyers Leicester City, who are managed by former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers. However, Wilson insists that mid-season for the club's star players are not being considered.

"We understand that, like every other club in world football, there comes a point when players have to move on to something else for a variety of reasons," Wilson told the BBC. "We'll be no different to that, but it's certainly not on the horizon in January.

"The first team has a number of players who could be really interesting for a number of clubs because the club is in a significantly better position than it was before and a lot of that is down to the recruitment and the work Steven and the coaching staff have done with the players."

Morelos, 23, has scored 22 goals in 26 appearances in all competitions for Steven Gerrard's side this season, including one in the recent 2-0 Europa League win over Porto.

12.36 GMT: Manchester United inserted a buyback clause into the deal that saw Memphis Depay sold to Lyon, the French club's sporting director has confirmed.

Depay joined Lyon in 2017 after a two-and-a-half-year spell at Manchester United, where he arrived as one of Europe's most promising young talents but left having scored just two Premier League goals. However, since moving to France the 25-year-old has re-ignited his career, scoring 41 goals in 99 Ligue 1 appearances and becoming one of Netherlands' key players.

Lyon chief Juninho Pernambucano confirmed that a clause in the Depay means they must inform United if they receive an official bid from another club.

"Manchester has the first option if several clubs line up to buy him," he told OLTV. "But we have not received any offers so far. He is really happy right now in Lyon.

"He deserves the armband like others. Rudi [Garcia] will soon make his decision. He is a technical leader. We will discuss a contract extension by the end of the year.

At the weekend, the Daily Mirror reported that Spurs have been regularly scouting Depay and are considered spending big to bring him back to the Premier League, but the forward says he is not willing to address the prospect of a transfer.

"I don't want to talk about that," he told Voetbal Primeur this week. "I don't want to talk about rumours that I know nothing about. "We leave it in the corridors. I am focused on a strong season so far."

11.10 GMT: Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are among the sides targeting 16-year-old West Brom striker Jovan Malcolm, according to the Mirror.

He is the latest off West Brom's production line of talent with Barcelona signing highly rated England youth international Louie Barry from the Baggies in the summer.

Yet to make a senior appearance for the Championship leaders, Malcolm has scored seven goals for WBA'S under-18 side this season including four in one game against Liverpool.

10.20 GMT: In an interview with the Telegraph, Callum Hudson-Odoi has revealed how close he came to quitting Chelsea to join Bayern Munich.

Hudson-Odoi, 19, eventually signed a new deal to stay at Stamford Bridge despite the Bundesliga champions expressing their interest in signing him.

"I think I was more thinking about it. I wasn't saying I was definitely going to sign [for Bayern] or I wasn't going to sign. I was thinking about it." he said.

"There were times last year where I felt a bit of frustration or times when I wanted to play more because I love the game. I was thinking: 'what happens if I do that [go to Bayern]?' But at the same time, I thought to myself: 'this is the club that I've been at and this is where I want to become a key player.'"

09.28 GMT: Tottenham defender Danny Rose has vowed to run down the final 18 months of his contract rather than leave in January.

"My contract is up in 18 months' time and I'll leave the football club then," he told the Evening Standard. "People [in the media] can save their time ­trying to get stuff ready for January about me being sold. Because I can tell you now: it ain't happening. I know what people were trying to do in the summer... There were no bids -- that was rubbish."

08.42 GMT: Liverpool are the latest club to show a firm interest in signing Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho, the Daily Mail reports.

Sancho, 19, has been one of Europe's most coveted young players when he joined Dortmund from Manchester City in 2017, and has been a big success in Germany.

However, things have not been going well at the Westfalenstadion this season. He was fined for returning late from England duty after the last international break, and was substituted in the first half of last weekend's dismal 4-0 defeat at Bayern Munich, Dortmund's biggest rivals.

The Mail reports that Dortmund are willing to sell Sancho for around £100m, and are already looking for a replacement.

08.00 GMT: The big news from Wednesday night was that Zlatan Ibrahimovic's tenure with the LA Galaxy has come to an end as the club announced they mutually parted ways.

In his trademark bombastic manner, the Swedish star tweeted a message thanking the club, saying: "You wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan.

"I came, I saw, I conquered. Thank you @lagalaxy for making me feel alive again. To the Galaxy fans -- you wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan. You are welcome. The story continues...Now go back to watch baseball."

Ibrahimovic has been linked with a return to Italy with former club AC Milan as well as A-League team Perth Glory and South American powers Flamengo and Boca Juniors.

The 38-year-old scored 52 goals and registered 17 assists in 53 starts for the LA Galaxy and arguably became the marquee player of the league.He was a two-time MLS Best XI selection and won the 2018 MLS Newcomer of the Year.

Ibrahimovic earned $7.2m this past season, according to the MLS players salary database. He made $1.5m in 2018.

PAPER TALK (by Danny Lewis): Silva to follow Iniesta and Villa to Vissel Kobe

David Silva is in line to sign for Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe when his contract with Manchester City comes to an end in 2020, according to El Chiringuito TV.

Andres Iniesta and David Villa have both played for the club, as do Lukas Podolski and Thomas Vermaelen.

It had already been confirmed that the Spaniard would be leaving the Etihad at the end of his contract, having joined the club from Valencia in 2010.

Bayern to reignite interest in Sane

Bayern Munich were put off buying Leroy Sane in the summer when he had surgery on a damaged anterior cruciate ligament, but they are back, the Mirror writes.

The Germany international could cost as much as £90 million, but that figure has not put Bayern off, even after they signed Philippe Coutinho on loan in the summer.

City are still keen on tying Sane to a new contract, with his deal running until 2021.

Tap-ins

- Getafe are hoping to sign Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena this summer, according to Marca. The 21-year-old has played just once for the Catalan giants this season, so they are open to him going out on a six-month loan without an option to buy.

- Inter Miami owner David Beckham has been speaking with players from around the world to join his Major League Soccer side, reports the Sun. The expansion club will play their first home game against Beckham's former club LA Galaxy, and Edinson Cavani is among those tipped to join him in South Beach.

^ Back to Top ^